SANTA MARIA

Torture verdict in child abuse

A mother is facing 18 years in prison for scalding her cosmetics-curious toddler.

Santa Barbara County prosecutors say jurors deliberated about an hour on Wednesday before convicting 25-year-old Lorena Monserrat Arenas of torture, corporal injury to a child and child abuse.

Her 2-year-old daughter was hospitalized with second- and third-degree burns in April 2010 after the Santa Maria woman held her daughter's arms under scalding water for five minutes because she got into her cosmetics.

Arenas faces a possible 18-year-prison term when she's sentenced in February.

The child's father, Jose Luis Gonzalez, was earlier sentenced to four years in prison after pleading no contest to felony child endangerment. He waited 12 hours to take the toddler to the hospital.

LOS ANGELES

Record cold in desert cities

Southern Californians awoke Thursday to record cold with sub-freezing temperatures in the mountains and deserts, but forecasters said a slight warming trend is on the way.

Overnight frost advisories were in effect until midmorning for the mountains, valleys and some coastal areas.

The temperature dipped to 14 degrees in the high desert town of Lancaster Thursday morning, breaking a 2006 record of 15 for the date, the National Weather Service said. Neighboring Palmdale recorded a 21-degree low.

Many other areas reported lows in the 30s and 40s. Los Angeles and San Diego hit 43.

The community of Ramona in San Diego County had a low of 45, tying a 1991 record for the date.

A lack of cloud cover can allow temperatures to drop rapidly overnight without a blanket of clouds to seal in warmth, and forecasters said areas of frost were possible through Thursday night in some coastal areas, valleys and lower deserts.

A slight warming trend is expected through Friday, with Los Angeles and many other areas seeing highs in the low to mid-60s.

For Friday night and Saturday, a weak cold front will bring a chance of rain, and a more potent cold front could bring additional rain Sunday night and Monday, according to the National Weather Service.